Author: Defenceline Webdesk

Europe faces a dangerous and rapidly evolving security environment — and the need for cost-effective, multi-mission, and interoperable defense solutions has never been greater.  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is at the forefront of delivering the vital Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) nations need to address today’s pressing security challenges.  The MQ-9B SkyGuardian® and SeaGuardian® multi-mission Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft are rapidly being adopted across the NATO alliance — from the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Poland, and beyond.  At the same time, emerging threats have given rise to the need for an affordable tactical en masse…

A British Army 105mm in action during exercises in Kenya. Credit: UK MoD/Crown copyright UK has paused Project Stokes to replace the Army’s 105mm gun and 81mm mortar, pending funding decisions It was assessing off-the-shelf 120mm mortar options, but is absent from recent Defence Investment Plan Drone-threat “kill-zones” are making towed artillery riskier, increasing demand for mobile fires The UK Ministry of Defence has revealed it has paused the planned replacement of the British Army’s L118 105mm Light Gun and L16 81mm mortar, with both systems currently planned to be removed from service by 2030.   In a UK parliamentary…

Anduril UK is displaying a baseline model of its new autonomous combat rotorcraft known as Thunder at Farnborough this week. Source link

LONDON—One month after winning the U.S. Air Force’s drone wingman contract, Anduril announced plans to make an autonomous attack tiltrotor that the company hopes  the U.S. Army will pair with its helicopters for future missions.Nicknamed Thunder, the vertical-takeoff-and-landing rotorcraft is to be autonomous, heavily armed, hybrid-electric powered, and roughly group five-sized. It’s being designed to “be packed into a standard shipping container” for easy transport, Anduril said in a press release. It is being developed with Archer Aviation, another California-based firm, with first flight envisioned for next year.Company officials say multiple uncrewed tiltrotors could accompany each crewed helicopter on a…

LONDON — Honeywell Aerospace, the freshly spun off defense and aerospace arm of Honeywell, is focused primarily on organic growth near-term, including major investments into its supply chain, CEO Jim Currier said Sunday. However, he did not rule out merger & acquisition activity in the future, with the company open to M&A both domestically and internationally if it makes sense. “We know exactly where we want to deploy capital, and it’s all going to be around driving organic growth of the business going forward,” Currier said at a media event here, held before the Farnborough Airshow. The demand for Honeywell…

FARNBOROUGH — Sweden is lining up a new order of Gripen E fighter jets to replace a fleet of older C/D models being gifted to Ukraine, according to the head of the Swedish air force. A new “investment” in 12 of the Saab-produced multirole combat aircraft will be added to the country’s “procurement cycle” at a later date, to compensate for the Kyiv-bound planes, according to Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman, Chief of the Swedish air force. Sweden’s future Gripen E buy will take the Nordic nation’s fleet to 72 aircraft, bolstering an original order of 60 units placed in 2013.…

FARNBOROUGH — A Boeing 747 donated by Qatar and modified to serve as a new flying White House will be taken out of service for additional upgrades, just weeks after an international debut, according to President Donald Trump. “It has a lot of capability,” Trump told reporters on Sunday in New Jersey while departing from the FIFA World Cup final, according to Reuters. “But as I understand it, in about a month ​or so, they’re gonna send it to have it be maxed out.” Trump said the modification will “take about a month,” but did not elaborate on what the…

Home › Europe › European Defence News › RAF launches Storm Fighter Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, anchoring a wider “Storm” drone family European Defence News The RAF has named its new Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme Storm Fighter, anchoring a wider Storm drone family built on the in-service Storm Shroud. The United Kingdom has put a name to its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) effort, with Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard announcing on 16 July 2026 that the autonomous fighter program will be called Storm Fighter at the Global Air and Space Chiefs’ Conference in London. The program draws…

In this edition of the Middle East Defense Digest, Breaking Defense Middle East Bureau Chief Agnes Helou catches you up on some of the biggest developments in the region — literally in the case of Egypt’s new and quite large military facilities. There are also takeaways for Turkey from the annual NATO summit, which was hosted this year in Ankara, and a look at why South Korean defense firm Hanwha recently teamed up with Emirati firm Generation 5 Holding. Helou then speaks with Bilal Saab, senior managing director of TRENDS US research agency as well as a nonresident senior fellow with…

LONDON —Boeing predicts it will take additional cost overruns on the troubled VC-25B program to ensure it delivers the first new Air Force One planes by 2028, the company’s defense CEO said today. “I do expect to see some cost growth there as we come through [final assembly] and we finish off the wiring and the structures, as well as finishing off with certification,” Steve Parker, the head of Boeing’s defense unit, told reporters ahead of Farnborough Airshow this week. “That cost growth will be focused on making sure that we hit the 2028 time frame.” Parker declined to comment…